Hyper-Realistic Cherry Luk Chup

 I was fascinated with Luk Chup since a few years ago but didn't have the motivation to try it out as I didn't manage to find a subject or purpose for it. With my dad's birthday coming up, I decided to give it a try because there were very good and cheap Turkish cherries on sale.

Can you tell which two cherries in the picture below are the real ones? 

A close up view of the cut cross-section!

I happened to have some homemade frozen lotus seed puree at home, in preparation for my Mooncaron class. Luk Chup is traditionally made from mung beans but other substitutes are possible too, such as lotus seeds which I had on hand. My recipe is adapted from Catherine Zhang's Luk Chup recipe. Feel free to upsize it as it's a small batch.

Ingredients:

(makes about 12-14)

Dough:

100g lotus seed puree*

50g cherry juice*

40g heavy cream/ coconut cream*

1/16 tsp salt

35g sugar*

1 tsp tapioca starch 

Coating:

125g water (room temperature)

1/2 tsp agar (1.6g)

1 tsp sugar (6g)

1/32 tsp salt (pinch)

Finishing:

Red, blue & dark brown colouring + some water

Fresh cherry stems 

* NOTES ON INGREDIENTS

🔸Lotus seed puree: I prepared this by first washing & soaking dried lotus seeds. The green shoots are removed. Rinse & boil soaked seeds until soft & easily mashed between fingers. Press boiled lotus seeds through fine mesh strainer. You may store the puree in the freezer double wrapped until it's needed. You may use the traditional mung beans instead of lotus seeds. I happen to have lotus seed puree in my freezer so I used it. You may use red beans (azuki beans), cannellini beans, or possibly chestnuts, sweet potato/taro as well. Basically anything that can form a smooth paste that's used in pastries all over the world. Just take note that you may need to tweak the sugar content &/or liquid used to form a final dough that tastes good & works well but the technique should work

🔸Cherry juice: I used freshly squeezed cherry juice but you may substitute with other juices or use coconut milk instead

🔸Heavy cream/coconut cream: I used coconut cream for this one and heavy cream for my first attempt. Both are great! If you are omitting the use of juice, replace this with coconut milk which has a lower fat content

🔸 Sugar: It's not only a sweetener but also a binder. Too little & your shaped dough will crack easily. I already reduced sugar from the traditional/original recipe by about half

Watch the reel for the video tutorial of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc4oBGgykXa/?stkn=MXg0Znpyc3I2Y21weA==

Steps:

1. Blend all ingredients except tapioca starch

2. Pour into non-stick saucepan. Add tapioca starch

3. Cook on med-low heat until a soft pliable dough forms. Make sure it's able to hold its shape when you try to mold it. If not cooked till firm enough, the shaped fruit will slide down the skewer & not hold its shape well. Cool completely 

4. Portion out 10-11g of dough for each cherry. Shape using lightly oiled clean hands & ball tool. You may use gloves but I find it causes creases in my shaped cherries😅, much like how bakers who work with fondant prefer to work with bare hands for intricate shaping

5. Paint shaped cherries using a brush. You may use a dish of paint for dipping but I wanted to create subtle shading that real cherries have by making dark red & black cherry colored paints

6. Mount on skewers using an upside down colander to hold them in place to dry. About 15-30 min 

7. Meantime, prepare agar coating. Whisk all ingredients together in a tiny saucepan. Let agar bloom for 5 min. Bring to a boil while gently whisking. Continue boiling for 1 min. Remove from heat & cool to about 65C while stirring gently

8. Dip cherries in agar as shown in reel, waiting for about a few minutes between 1st & 2nd coating. Reheat & stir agar if it starts to thicken/set

9. Attach cherry stem after applying the 2nd coating. Let the coating set fully, about 10 min

10. Remove Luk Chup from skewers. Cut off excess agar at the base & reshape to round out. Store airtight in fridge for up to 5 days

Looks so real you can't tell that they aren't!

Stay tuned for the cake that these cherry wannabes were used to decorate!

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Sugar-Free Jasmine Green Tea & Grape Painted Cake

 Mum requested for a sugar-free cake for her birthday based on one of her artworks and this was what I made!

I painted the chiffon sponge based on her painted ceramic plate design.

Cake composition:

- Sugar-free Jasmine green tea chiffon sponge

- Cold brew Jasmine green tea in fresh grape juice for brushing on sponges

- Fresh grapes

- Sugar-free Jasmine green tea mascarpone whipped cream 

Please see the reel for the process and detailed recipe:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX-fIcaSjkk/?igsh=anFwNXVnNW40Zmw5

I will share the ingredient list here for your reference.

Jasmine green tea chiffon sponge:

Egg yolk batter: 

20g oil

48g concentrated Jasmine Green tea*

1/16 tsp salt

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

50g cake flour, sifted

1 tea bag of leaves (~2g), ground & sifted with flour

3 yolks

Meringue:

3 egg whites (about 110g)

1/8 tsp cream of tartar 

45-50g sugar of choice

* Steep 5 Jasmine green tea tea bags in 120g hot water covered for 15 min. Strain & reserve 48g for chiffon sponges

Mascarpone Jasmine green tea whipped cream:

170g mascarpone, cold

215g tea infused heavy cream, cold*

1.5 tbs (~12g) sugar/sugar replacement of choice

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

*Steep 8g Jasmine green tea leaves (~ 4 tea bags) in about 260g heavy cream for 12-24h in the fridge. Strain & reserve 215g

Cold brew Jasmine green tea in grape juice:

45g freshly squeezed grape juice

4g (2 bags) Jasmine green tea leaves

Just to share some photos of the process...

Sponge brushed with cold brew tea in grape juice

Filling with mascarpone whipped cream and fresh grapes!

The cake was light and refreshing, yet rich and not too sweet. Perfect for dessert after a heavy meal at the restaurant!

The sponge is moist and soft with fine crumbs too and you can't tell you are eating a cake made using sugar replacements because it doesn't leave a weird aftertaste or texture! I use a blend of replacements to achieve this. I also included some prebiotic soluble fibres to further lower the GI of the cake. I can't disclose the exact blend and ratios as I use it for my sugar-free chiffon cake class 

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Apple Earl Grey Apple Macarons

Happy Teacher's Day to all teachers! Thank you for your hard work! I didn't have time to make a teacher's day special bake so this unplanned bake came at the right time! This unplanned bake happened because I had leftover batter from an epic project that was sitting in the piping bag for 4 hours. Presenting my apple macarons filled with apple Earl Grey ganache and apple jam filling! The ganache is dairy-free and temperature stable in tropical Singapore's non-airconditioned room temperatures.

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe where the egg whites are split into whipped and unwhipped portions to give a smoother finish on the surface. Really pleased that despite leaving out the batter for long, the macaron shells are still full, smooth and have even feet!

Even the stems and leaves were made from leftover batter too and of a different color. The stems were made from leftover grey batter with cocoa powder and cornstarch added. I added the cornstarch to thicken the batter some more to give the stems a little texture. The leaves were made from leftover beige batter coloured with green gel colouring.

The apple jam is actually what I use for making zephyrs (agar-based marshmallows). Since this bake was unplanned, I just used the same apple jam for filling the macarons as I am preparing for a marshmallow bake soon.

Proper technique and attention to detail during the process is so important and that's what I teach in my classes. It's not simply about following a recipe as we all work with different equipment and conditions.

See my reel for the filling recipe and video tutorial of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_Nl4M-S_cA/?igsh=cWsxbWNrMXRvbmty

with love,

Phay Shing

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Fruity Bear Lychee Raspberry Rose Choux Pastry Class

 Want to create a cute and yummy choux pastry creation? Join me for this class in April!

Filling is a delectable lychee rose diplomat cream, juicy pieces of lychees and homemade raspberry jam. The jam can be a mix of berries too!

Here's the reel for how I piped the filling and decorated the bear!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4LAtAmyxPf/?igsh=ejdyeHo5OGhmbDJq

Please click on this link for more details or to register.

with love,

Phay Shing

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Earl Grey Pear Chiffon Cake

 If I had a choice, I would rename the title of this post as "Earl Grey Honey Milk Tea Vanilla Pear and Lime Chiffon Cake" but that would be too long and a big mouthful to read out aloud 😆. But that's the true representation of this really aromatic, refreshing and yummy cake!

I made not just one but two such cakes! One for my dad's birthday and another for my uncle's birthday.

The pears on top are actually made of chiffon cake. This is the Instagram reel on how to make it:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxF1fbTyhDQ/?igshid=MWZjMTM2ODFkZg==

The large cakes are made up of:

- Earl grey honey milk tea chiffon sponges

- Earl grey pear tea with honey agar jelly 

- Pear and lime compote with brown sugar and honey

- Chantilly cream

I have to thank Lizzy (@homecookinglizzy Instagram account ) for the inspiration for this cake flavour and the recipe for the pear and lime compote. It's amazing 😍.

I was trying out baking without using steam baking but with a different baking temperature profile to see if it works too. Fan mode was used when I usually use top and bottom heat only. My conclusion is, there isn't really much difference in results from my usual temperature profile which starts at a higher temperature and then gradually lowering it, while using steam baking.

Earl Grey pear tea

This is used for making the chiffon "pears" and the agar jelly.

Ingredients:

1 large ripe Packham pear, peeled and grated

2 Earl Grey tea bags

1/2 tsp black tea powder (or 1 Earl Grey tea bag)

1 stick of cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

400ml water

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Turn off heat and leave it to cool completely. Discard cinnamon stick. Squeeze out the tea bags. Sieve the Earl Grey pear tea through fine sieve. Store in airtight glass container refrigerated until needed. You may prepare this 1-2 days in advance.

Earl Grey pear tea chiffon cake "pears"

Ingredients (makes about 15-16 pears):

Egg yolk batter

2 egg yolks

28g vegetable oil

28g Earl Grey pear tea

40g cake flour

Pinches of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Green and yellow gel food colouring

1/2 tsp Earl Grey tea leaves from tea bag (optional)

Cinnamon stick cut to thin slivers (for pear stems)

Meringue

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

38g caster sugar

Steps:

1. Wash egg shells and remove membrane inside. Air dry completely before using. Use silicone hemisphere tray, muffin cases or disposable cupcake cases to hold each eggshell upright.

2. Preheat oven to 120-130C fan mode.

3. Prepare egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks until pale and thick. Add oil and whisk until well combined. Add tea, salt and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Gradually sift in flour and whisk until no trace of flour is seen. You may add some tea leaves from a tea bag to the flour before sifting together to add black specks on the pear to mimic real pears. Set aside.

4. Make the meringue. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks or just reach stiff peaks, gradually adding sugar once egg whites are foamy. 

5. Quickly but gently fold meringue into egg yolk batter in three additions. Transfer into large piping bag. Cut a hole about 7-8mm. Fill the egg shells about 2/3-3/4 full.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Increase temperature to 160C and bake for another 5 minutes. Leave to cool completely before cutting off the excess cake that rose out of the egg shell. Crack the egg shells with the back of metal spoon and gently releasing the cake. Adjust baking temperature and time according to your oven as each oven is different. 

7. Use a strip of cling wrap to tie a knot at where you want the "waist" of the pear to appear on each cake. Leave it for 10-15 minutes before untying it. I was impatient and didn't want to use so much plastic so I just did it one at a time, using the time to unmould each cake as the length of time to "strangle" the previous cake. The sponge would bounce back a little but I just shape it with my fingers again.

8. Insert a sliver of cinnamon stick for the pear stem. You may use chocolate if you wish but I prefer something that is less fragile and easier to handle in hot and humid Singapore. 

9. Brush the surface of the sponge with syrup (1:2 sugar: hot water) and store in airtight condition in the fridge. You may store at room temperature too if consuming within 3 days.

Don't they look cute?😍

Earl Grey pear tea with honey agar jelly

I portion the jelly ingredients such that the jelly layer I set in my silicone tray is about 7-8mm thick. My tray is about 8" in diameter.

Ingredients:

270g Earl Grey pear tea

40g honey

5g agar powder

Zest of 1 large lime (calamamsi), optional

Steps:

1. Put cold or room temperature tea in saucepan. Scatter agar powder over and whisk. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. 

2. Add honey and lime zest. Bring to boil while whisking frequently.  Simmer for 3 minutes while whisking. 

3. Pour mixture through a very fine sieve into tray. Leave it to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 1 h.

4. Use a small teardrop shaped cutter (or any other shape you like) to cut out pieces for lining the sides of the cakes. Finely chop the remaining leftover jelly for adding to the filling in the middle with the pear and lime compote. Keep the cutouts and finely chopped pieces covered and refrigerated until needed.

Pear and lime compote 

Ingredients:

3 ripe but firm pears, peeled and finely chopped

2 large limes (calamamsi), zest and juice

45g light brown sugar

15g honey

15g water

1/8 tsp salt

Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until pear appears translucent.  Set aside to cool completely. You may prepare this a day in advance. Store in refrigerator if preparing in advance.

Earl Grey honey milk tea chiffon cakes

Ingredients (makes one 15cm and one 17cm chiffon cake in tube pans*):

Egg yolk batter

7 egg yolks

80g vegetable oil

110g Earl Grey honey milk tea**

1.5 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

5g black tea powder***

145g cake flour

Meringue

7 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

105g caster sugar

*Please scale recipe according to your chiffon cake tin size. Use 2 or 3 egg portion for 15cm and 4 egg portion for 17cm tin.

** Dissolve 55g of honey in 100g of milk by heating and stirring in a saucepan. Remove from heat once honey is dissolved and milk is steaming hot. Soak 6 Earl Grey teabags for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze out as much tea as you can from the tea bags. Portion out 110g for use. Top up with more milk if amount is not enough.

***Extra notes: You may replace tea powder with more Earl Grey tea bags if you don't have it, adjust amount according to taste and brand. The tea powder I use is able to dissolve in water. You may add milk powder if you wish the taste to be milkier. I omitted it although Lizzy added it, because the sponges are eaten with dairy cream instead of eaten alone or without pairing with something milky.

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 120-130C fan mode. Set oven rack to second lower position.

2. Dissolve black tea powder in Earl Grey honey milk tea if using. Set aside.

3. Prepare egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks until pale and thick. Add oil and whisk until well combined. Add tea, salt and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Gradually sift in flour and whisk until no trace of flour is seen. Set aside.

4. Make the meringue. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks or just reach stiff peaks, gradually adding sugar once egg whites are foamy. 

5. Quickly but gently fold meringue into egg yolk batter in three additions. Pour into chiffon cake tins until batter is about 1" below the rim. Run a chopstick along the base and sides of the tin to pop any large air bubbles.

6. Bake for 1h - 1h 10 minutes. The cakes don't brown at all in my oven at this temperature. Increase temperature to 160C and bake for another 7-10 minutes or until tops appear a little browned. Immediately invert the tins to cool completely before unmoulding by hand. Slice each cake horizontally into 3 slices. I sliced into 4 so that I can fill the hole in the middle with circular cutouts from the fourth slice.

Chantilly cream

You may use any type of cream or combination of cream you like according to taste preference and ambient conditions that you are serving the cake. Non-dairy holds up the best, is pre-sweetened and impossible to overwhip. Heavy cream tastes the best but may need stabilizers like gelatin and sugar, and tends to be over whipped more easily if not careful. You may also use double cream which has higher fat content than heavy cream, tastes great too but able to hold its shape better in warmer conditions. I use a combination of non-dairy and double cream to get the best of both worlds of taste, stability and ease of handling. I use a ratio of 2:3 for non-dairy : double cream.

Make sure sponge cakes are sliced and all filling ingredients are ready before whipping the cream. Use it immediately to assemble the cakes.

Ingredients:

250g Whip topping (non-dairy whipping cream)

375g double cream (45% fat)

Steps:

1. Whip non-dairy whipping cream until stiff. Set aside.

2. Whisk double cream until loosened and able to hold some soft to firm peaks. Be careful not to over whisk or it will split. That's why I recommend using the hand whisk instead of electric mixer for this.

Whisked double cream till soft-firm peak

3. Gradually fold in whipped non-dairy cream into double cream until well combined.

Assembly

1. Place a slice of sponge on 7 or 8" cakeboard. Wrap an acetate sheet around the cake and tape it in place. Fill the hole with a sponge cutout if you wish.

2. Brush the sponge with some syrup from the compote. 

3. Spread a thin layer of cream over the sponge.

4. Slide agar jelly cutouts down the sides of the acetate sheet so that there is no air gap. Line the whole circumference of the cake with the jelly.

5. Transfer some cream into piping bag with a small hole (4-5mm) cut. Pipe cream around the jelly cutouts, making sure there is no air gap. Use a skewer or chopstick to nudge the cream if you see air gaps from the outside. 

6. Fill the middle with pear and lime compote and chopped bits of Earl Grey pear tea jelly.

7. Cover with cream and smoothen it relatively flat.

8. Carefully insert second sponge layer. Fill hole with sponge cutout if you wish.

9. Repeat steps 2-8.

10. Cover the top with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before removing the acetate sheet. You may leave the acetate sheet in place if you wish until ready to serve. Keep refrigerated and consume within 3-5 days. 

My family loved the cake because it is so light, refreshing and fragrant, with a good balance of flavours! I thought the addition of lime to Earl Grey and pear an unusual one but it turned out very well! Here's a peek at the messy yummy slices!

To be honest, I would have filled the "pears" with some cream and compote as well but these cakes came at a very busy period for me with multiple deadlines happening around the same time. I decided to keep things simpler. If you would like to know how to fill the pears, you may refer to my apple black tea chiffon cake apples or chiffon strawberries posts.

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Pineapple Chiffon Roll Cake

 

Rolling into good times with this Pineapple chiffon roll cake🍍💕 ! Ong Lai Huat ah =). For the uninitiated, the pineapple was the symbol for our newly elected president! Some Chinese also like to roll the pineapple through a new house/office. I was inspired to make this pineapple chiffon from a roll cake, and it is also for a friend. It is also a tribute to our new president! The cake has pineapple whipped cream, as well as mini pineapple surprises inside =). 

 Watch the video tutorial here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw6XeWsP7nX/ 

I'm opening up a Hands-on Class on Oct 6th for Pineapple chiffon cake, following some requests from friends. Sign up here if you are keen =). 

With lots of love,

Susanne

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Mandarin Orange Marshmallows with Yuzu Mandarin Orange Filling

 This is the second Lunar New Year themed marshmallow creation that I wish I thought of making earlier. But it's ok, this will appear in my upcoming book Deco Marshmallows as well!

This is a rather nostalgic design because it looks so much like my chiffon cake mandarin oranges that I discovered 9 years ago. How time flies! I remember the excitement of discovering how I could make realistic looking mandarin oranges out of mandarin orange chiffon sponge so many years ago! What I did differently this time for the marshmallow version, is to add a filling to boost that citrusy kick! The filling is yuzu with mandarin orange zest and the marshmallow itself is made with mandarin orange juice.

Here's a video of it in squishy action! Perhaps you can fool your family and friends next Lunar New Year with these 😉

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoHktm0gWdk/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=

with love,

Phay Shing

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Kyoho Grapes, Strawberries n Cream Longevity Peach Chiffon Cake

 I made this longevity peach cake for my grandma's birthday!

Vanilla chiffon sponge with my version of Chantilly cream, kyoho grapes and strawberries

It has been a few years since I made longevity peach themed cakes when there was a time early in my baking journey that I made them so often for requests!

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the chiffon peaches in a steaming basket 

Although I stuck with my default vanilla chiffon cake recipe for the main cake, I decided to use more egg yolk for the peaches for richer taste but it needs more white colouring to compensate. You may refer to my past longevity peach chiffon cake peaches for reference if you wish. I used to make other flavours like lychee rose, which is really yummy too!

Here are the heart silicone moulds and cookie cutters I used for the small and medium sized peaches. The minis are bite-sized. The medium-sized ones are about three bite-sized. I used lemon juice to make the longevity peaches but feel free to replace with water if you want plain vanilla flavour.

Vanilla lemon longevity peaches

Ingredients (makes 12 med & 12 small peaches, one thin 10x12 inch sheet cake):

Egg yolk batter

3 egg yolks

15g caster sugar 

56g vegetable oil

28g lemon juice

28g water

80g cake flour

1tsp white powder colouring (or use gel colouring)

1/8 tsp salt

1tsp vanilla extract

More white gel colouring as needed

1/4-1/2tsp pandan paste

Meringue

4 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

85g caster sugar 

Steps:

1. Line 10x12" tray with teflon sheet. Parchment paper will do as well but it may wrinkle. Lightly grease the silicone molds with oil. Preheat oven to 170C, top and bottom heat only.

2. Make egg yolk batter. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until pale. Add oil and whisk until smooth. Add lemon juice, water and vanilla and whisk together. Gradually sift in cake flour and white powder until no trace of flour is seen. Add more white colouring if desired.

3. Make meringue. In a clean metal bowl, use electric mixer to beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks form, gradually adding sugar once the egg whites are foamy. Take your time to slowly build up the meringue so that it is stable with tight compact air bubbles.

4. Quickly but gently fold meringue into egg yolk batter in 3 additions. Transfer about 2/3 of batter into large piping bag and fill the silicone moulds until full. 

5. Bake for 5 min at 160C, reduce temperature to 140C and bake for 20min, reduce to 130C for another 10-15min or until skewer comes out clean. Cool completely before carefully unmoulding by hand. Preheat oven to 170C again.

6. Add pandan paste to the remaining batter. The batter would have deflated a little by now but it is ok. Just gently fold in pandan paste. Smoothen out the batter until it is a very thin layer in the 10x12" tray. Bake for 8-9 min or until done. Immediately flip the cake out onto fresh sheet of parchment paper. Cool completely before cutting out the leaves with cookie cutter.

Important note:

Adjust baking temperature and time according to your oven as each oven behaves differently even if they are the same model and batch.

Decorating and assembling longevity peaches

I used cake glue to stick the leaves on instead of melted marshmallows out of convenience. I sprayed the ombre pink coating on the hearts with pink coloured water and a toothbrush. Spray the hearts pink before assembling the leaves. You may pipe on the eyes with melted black candy melts or chocolate. The red cheeks were added on using red edible marker.

Filling

Instead of using a stabilized whipped cream, what I used for this cake is even simpler as it doesn't include gelatin stabilization but tastes just as good as it is stable.

I used a ratio of 2:3 for Whip topping: double-cream by weight. Whip topping is a non-dairy whipping cream that is pre-sweetened and very stable. Double cream is more stable than regular dairy cream that has lower fat percentage, but still as delicious but richer. Simply whip the whip topping until stiff peaks, no danger of overwhipping here. Loosen the double cream with a hand whisk until it is smooth and thick but not able to hold a peak. Gradually fold the whip topping into the loosened double cream. Transfer into piping bag for cake assembly. Be careful not to overwhisk the double cream or it will split. You may add some vanilla extract if you wish.

I made some syrup by using kyoho grape juice squeezed from some grapes, sugar and hot water. This syrup was used to brush the vanilla sponge surfaces to keep it moist as well as add flavour. There is no fixed ratio of sugar: liquid, up to personal preference. I usually use about 1:2 sugar: liquid by weight.

Just to share some pictures of the layers in the cake.

Even without the longevity peaches, the cake looks inviting!

So glad it was very well received and everyone loved it!

If you would like to know how I make such neat fruits n cream cake, you may refer to my Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjmC-w8Pfvq/?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY=

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Minions Dizzy Chiffon Cake

 

My daughter's birthday is here and she's a Minions fan after watching Minions: The Rise of Gru, so I designed some Minions cakes for her celebration. I watched the show myself and thought it was really funny and cute! 

Here is a video reel where I shared how to pipe and make the spiderweb design for the dizzy chiffon cake. It's actually inspired by the movie poster with the dizzy background! I used a turntable for this so it was really quite easy to make the design though it looks complicated. I was really thankful to collaborate with Tastemade to post this as well! 

Video reel here. 

I also put banana surprise fillings into the mini Minions as well! 

Watch another video reel here on the insides! 

Hope you are keeping well! I've been very busy with the kids, so posting less. Do take care too! 

With lots of love, 

Susanne 

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'Basket of strawberries' Lychee Rose Strawberry Chiffon Cake

 This was what I made for my mum's birthday this year! Chiffon cake strawberries in biscuit basket, on top of a lychee rose strawberry chiffon cake!

There's more to it than meets the eye. Each strawberry in the biscuit basket has cream and strawberry jelly inside. The cake below is made from lychee rose chiffon sponge and filled with lychee rose diplomat cream, lychee jelly, strawberry compote and chopped canned lychees. The sweet pink buffalo check mat is made from chiffon too!

This will be a super long blog post as this bake has so many components. I will break it down into two main parts: 1. Chiffon strawberries in biscuit basket and 2. Lychee rose strawberry chiffon cake.

1. CHIFFON STRAWBERRIES IN BISCUIT BASKET
Recipe and steps for this part includes biscuit basket, strawberry jelly and chiffon strawberries.

Biscuit Basket

Ingredients:

140g plain flour or cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

30g icing sugar (I used sugar-free option but can use regular ones)

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbs milk powder (optional, added to boost milky flavour)

3/8 tsp cocoa powder (optional, for colour)

48g vegetable shortening or unsalted butter

50g milk ( May not use all)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Sift together all dry ingredients. 

2. Rub in butter/ shortening until breadcrumb-like.

3. Mix vanilla into milk. Add milk a little at a time until cohesive dough forms.

4. Cling wrap and rest the dough overnight or at least 2hours at room temperature. This is to make the dough smoother and more pliable.

5. Roll dough, cut into thin strips and weave the basket.

6. Bake at 165C until lightly golden brown and cool completely. Remember to bake till really dry. If it is still a little soft, the basket may not hold its shape unless you do a tight weave. I prefer a looser weave revealing a little of the goodies that are inside. 

7. Assemble by gluing parts together with stiff royal icing. Dry completely before storing in airtight container. 

Please click on this link for the Youtube video tutorial of making the basket.

Strawberry Jelly

Ingredients:

70g strawberry compote*

70g water

2g agar powder

1/4 tsp strawberry emulco

*Strawberry compote

220g strawberries

15-30g sugar of choice (may use regular caster sugar or diabetic friendly options like erythritol, adjust amount according to taste and tartness of fruit.)

Pinches of salt

Note: Excess strawberry compote is reserved for assembling the lychee rose strawberry cake.

Steps:

1. Prepare strawberry compote by boiling all the ingredients with low heat in a saucepan until the fruit content is reduced to 60-70% of original weight. Mash the strawberries as it cooks with a potato masher or spatula. Sieve the compote if you prefer smoother compote. Cool completely before storing or using.

2. Make the jelly. Place all ingredients except agar in a small saucepan. Scatter agar powder on the surface of the mixture and let it bloom for a few minutes. 

3. Prepare moulds for setting the jelly. I used paper cones as my moulds but you may use other moulds if you wish. Bring mixture to a roiling boil while whisking continuously. Continue boiling for one minute more while whisking continuously. Add about 1/2-1 tsp of jelly mixture into each mould and let it cool slightly before refrigerating for at least 30 minutes. Unmould and store in fridge in airtight container until ready to assemble the strawberries.

Chiffon cake strawberries

Ingredients:

Egg yolk batter

2 egg yolks

25g vegetable oil

25g water

(1 tsp strawberry emulco + 1/4 tsp vanilla extract for strawberries)

OR

(1/2 tsp pandan paste + 1/2 tsp vanilla extract for leaves)

(40g cake flour +1/8 tsp cocoa powder for strawberries)

OR

(38g cake flour for leaves)

Pinch of salt

Any other gel colouring to get desired shade of red/green

Meringue

2 egg whites

32g caster sugar 

1/8-1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Steps:

1. line 10x12" tray with parchment or teflon sheet. Prep about 25-28 paper cones in suitable holders (you may use aluminium foil covered loaf pans with holes in the foil to make a stand for the cones). Preheat oven to 150C for red cones and 175C for green sheet cake.

2. Prep egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks until thick and pale. Add oil and whisk until combined. Add water and respective flavourings and whisk together. Gradually sift in respective flour and whisk until well combined. adjust colour if necessary.

3. Prep meringue. In a clean metal bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks or just reach stiff peaks, gradually adding in sugar once the egg whites are foamy.

4. Gently fold the meringue into egg yolk batter in 3 additions.

5. Pour/pipe batter into respective tray/cones. Spread the batter really thin for the leaves. You may not use up all the batter for that. Fill cones till about half full.

Paper cones filled with red batter

6. Bake green sheet cake for 9-10min. Bake red cones for 25-30 min. I reduced the temperature for the cones to 140C after first two minutes of baking. Note that temperature and time is oven dependent so adjust accordingly.

Assemble the strawberries as shown in this Youtube video (you may also watch the shortened version in my Instagram reel). You will need light corn syrup/cake glue/ melted marshmallows as glue. The cream I used is just store bought non-dairy whipping cream with a little more vanilla extract added. You may use dairy whipping cream that is stabilized but this entire bake is already so involved I felt like simplifying this part 😂. I whipped up about 40g of whipping cream for assembling the strawberries. Store assembled strawberries in the fridge in airtight container for at most a week. This is non-dairy if you use non-dairy cream so a week storage isn't an issue but it may dry out with longer storage.

Here's another view of the basket of "strawberries"! I love the cut view as well! The mat under the basket is actually homemade marzipan. I just used the marzipan for photography so not sharing the recipe.

2. LYCHEE ROSE STRAWBERRY CHIFFON CAKE

This part consists of a chiffon cake placemat with pink buffalo check pattern, lychee rose chiffon cake sponge, lychee rose diplomat cream, lychee jelly made from canned lychee syrup, fresh Korean strawberries, canned lychees and strawberry compote.

Lychee rose chiffon cake

Ingredients (makes one 17cm chiffon cake and one 7x7" chiffon sheet cake):

Egg yolk batter

6 egg yolks

75g canned lychee puree, sieved

75g vegetable oil

6g rose syrup (you may use rose water but I find rose syrup that is used to make Bandung has less tendency to taste chemical)

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

130g cake flour

Meringue

6 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

90g caster sugar (I replaced half with erythritol)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 150C. Place a tray of water at base of oven if you wish to create steam. Line 7x7" tray with teflon sheet or parchment paper. Set oven rack to second lower position.

2. Make egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks until thick and pale. Add oil and whisk until combined. Add lychee puree, rose syrup, salt and vanilla and whisk together. Gradually sift in flour and whisk until well combined. 

3. Prep meringue. In a clean metal bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks or just reach stiff peaks, gradually adding in sugar once the egg whites are foamy.

4. Gently fold the meringue into egg yolk batter in 3 additions.

5. Fill 7x7" pan till about one inch thick with batter. Pour the rest into 17cm chiffon tin. Run a chopstick in the batter to pop any trapped air bubbles. Place both into the oven

6. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the 7" tray and immediately flip the cake onto a fresh sheet of parchment paper. Continue baking the 17cm cake for another 40min at 130C (as read by oven thermometer) or until skewer comes out clean. Invert the chiffon cake immediately and cool completely before unmoulding by hand. Note that baking temperature and time will vary between different ovens so adjust accordingly. Store the cakes in airtight condition until ready to assemble.

Lychee jelly

Ingredients:

50g chilled lychee syrup from the can

12g gelatin powder or 6 gelatin sheets

100g lychee syrup from the can at room temperature

Steps:

1. Place chilled lychee syrup in a microwaveable bowl. Scatter gelatin powder or place gelatin sheets in it to bloom for 10 minutes. 

2. Microwave on low power for 20 seconds and stir. Repeat if necessary until melted fully. You may use double boiling method to melt the gelatin if you wish.

3. Add the rest of the lychee syrup. Whisk until well combined. Chill in fridge until set, at least one hour.

4. Cut the jelly into small cubes and store in the fridge until ready to assemble.

Lychee rose diplomat cream

Ingredients:

150g lychee puree from canned lychees, sieved

50g milk

20g cornflour

2 egg yolks

6g rose syrup

Pinches of salt

15g unsalted butter, softened (you can take it out from the fridge once you start work and it will soften)

80-120g whipping cream of choice (I used non-dairy for convenience which is already stabilized and sweetened. You may use dairy cream or a combination of both. If using dairy cream only, please stabilize it with gelatin or other means and add sugar to taste. Use less whipping cream for a richer cream and stronger lychee flavour.)

Note if you are opting to use less whipping cream, especially if you are using dairy cream, you may have to upsize the recipe to 3 egg yolks worth to ensure there is sufficient cream for cake assembly.

Steps:

1. Whisk together egg yolks, salt and cornflour in a heavy mixing bowl or heavy glass jug.

2. In a saucepan, heat milk, lychee puree and rose syrup until steaming hot, not boiling. Remove from heat and slowly pour in a thin stream into the egg yolk mixture while whisking the yolk mixture continuously. Pour everything back into saucepan and cook over medium low heat while whisking continuously. 

3. Keep whisking and cooking until custard starts to thicken. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. Return back to heat and cook and whisk until custard is firm enough to hold a soft peak.

4. Remove from heat and add butter. Whisk until well combined. Transfer to a mixing bowl and press cling wrap on the surface immediately. Cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least an hour. You may prepare this pastry cream a day in advance if you wish.

5. Remove pastry cream from fridge and loosen it with spatula. Whip up whipping cream and fold into pastry cream to make diplomat cream. Transfer into a large piping bag with a hole cut for cake assembly.

Cake assembly

-17cm chiffon cake cut horizontally into three pieces

-7x7" chiffon cake to cut out three circles to cover hole in middle of chiffon cake

-Strawberry compote (from previous section)

-Canned lychee syrup

-Lychee rose diplomat cream in large piping bag

-Korean strawberries cut to size and dried on paper towels

-Canned lychees cut to small pieces, remove woody parts

- 9" cakeboard

- guitar sheet or acetate sheet

Steps:

1. Pipe a little diplomat cream on cakeboard and place chiffon cake on it. Cover the hole with circle piece of cake cutout. 

2. Wrap acetate sheet around cake and secure with tape. Brush cake surface with lychee syrup. Carefully spoon some strawberry compote in the middle of the cake, leaving about 1inch border uncovered. Pipe a ring of diplomat cream around the strawberry compote and carefully thin it out all the way to the edge using a metal teaspoon. (see first picture in collage below)

3. Add strawberries around the circumference, taking care to press the fruit against the acetate sheet. (second picture in collage)

4. Pipe some diplomat cream in the middle. Add lychee jelly and chopped lychees in the middle. (third picture in collage)

5. Carefully pipe diplomat cream around the strawberries to fill the gaps, and over the jelly and lychees. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out the cream (fourth picture in collage).

6. Place another slice of sponge over the cream and cover the hole with a cut piece of sponge. Repeat above steps until the last piece of sponge is placed on top. Brush the tops of the top sponge with some lychee syrup. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least two hours until ready to assemble. I inserted jumbo straws into the middle of the cake as dowels to support the heavy basket of strawberries but you may omit if not needed.

Buffalo check patterned chiffon cake mat

Ingredients:

Egg yolk batter

2 egg yolks

20g oil

30g milk

45g cake flour

white gel colouring

strawberry emulco

Meringue

2 egg whites

1/4-1/2 tsp cream of tartar

40g caster sugar (I replaced half with erythritol)

Note that there will be excess batter. I just piped it out to make another sheet cake for mini swiss roll.

Steps:

1. Prepare 10 x 12" tray with buffalo check pattern template (I made my own according to size of squares I wanted) and teflon sheet (preferable)/ parchment paper (ok in a pinch but may result in wrinkled looking pattern). Preheat oven to 180C, set oven rack to middle position.

2. Prepare egg yolk batter as mentioned above (not gonna repeat myself 😂) but add some white gel colouring in. Divide yolk batter into 1:1:2 ratio for white:dark pink: light pink. But if you want things simpler for yourself since there is excess batter anyway, just divide into three equal portions, about 40g each. Add strawberry emulco until desired shade of pink is reached for light pink and dark pink.

3. Prepare meringue and divide into three equal portions or 1:1:2 ratio for white: dark pink : light pink. Fold into respective egg yolk batter. Transfer into piping bags with a small hole cut, about 2-3mm. I must stress the importance of a properly made meringue. If it is unstable, it will break down fast. I use a little more cream of tartar and sugar in the meringue than for my regular chiffons for the reason of stabilizing it a bit more.

4. Pipe the pattern following the template. Pipe as thick as possible while retaining the shape, at least 4-5mm thick

5. Place tray in oven, lower temperature to 170C and bake for 9 min or until you think it is done 😂. Unfortunately this one takes a bit of guess work and you have to know your oven well and have some experience working with chiffons, because the batter is so thin. I cannot prescribe exact baking time and temperature. Bake too long and it gets browned and dry. Bake too short and it will be very fragile. Temperature too high, it will brown. Temperature too low and it will also be fragile and the meringue may start deflating before it sets (pattern will not he pretty). A chiffon this thin can go from baking too short to too long within a minute. To give yourself a larger margin of error, start with the higher temperature for first few minutes to quickly set the meringue structure before it breaks down, and then lower the temperature to a level where it is unlikely to brown so quickly but sufficient to dry out your cake batter. It is ok to open the oven door to have a closer look at your cake to check after the first few minutes. If it still appears wet, continue baking another half to one minute.

6. Once baked, immediately flip it out onto a fresh sheet of parchment paper.

Ta-dah! Looks like an actual towel.

7. Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the cake according to the size you want. 

8. Carefully place it on top of the lychee rose strawberry cake after removing the acetate sheet. Brush the surface with lychee syrup.

You may add some fresh strawberries or chiffon strawberries on top, or the whole basket of strawberries. Please remember to use dowels of putting something heavy on top because this is a delicate cake.

Actually, I didn't get to taste the big cake because mum and dad caught Covid a few days before the planned extended family get-together celebration. My aunt picked up the big cake and shared it with the rest of my extended family including grandma. My mum and dad had the basket of chiffon strawberries instead. According to aunt, the cake was so yummy and she kindly helped me take picture of a cut slice.

Pardon the messy interior because I inserted jumbo straw dowels into the cake for photography of what the entire bake should look like.

In my slightly distracted state of mind while making this bake, I forgot all about the chiffon cake daisies I made as little pops of colour to add on the bake when I took the photos. I think they deserve a mention and feature in the blog post because they are so dainty and cute!

My parents are better now so it is a relief! Thank God for vaccines and good medical care in Singapore!

This project was really a labour of love that took many many hours. Glad it turned out yummy and pretty! Please acknowledge me if you use any of my material that I shared in this post (and other posts) because it has taken me a lot of time to develop it. For more timely view of my work, please follow me on Instagram at phay_shing as I may not share everything in the blog.

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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